Amit Shah Sets "Secure Assam" Agenda In Guwahati Strategy Meet

To win the Assam state polls for the third time in a row, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday advised the Assam BJP brass to fight on twin planks: development and a secure state.

Shah, who wound up a two-day visit to Assam, held a nearly two-hour-long meeting with senior leaders of the BJP state unit at the party headquarters in Guwahati, with a focus on discussing strategy for the state elections, expected in March-April.

The meeting, held at Vajpayee Bhawan, was attended by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP Assam president Dilip Saikia, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, and Assam BJP election in-charge Baijayant Panda, among other senior party functionaries.

Briefing reporters after the closed-door meeting, BJP Assam president Dilip Saikia said, "Development and a secure Assam will be our twin electoral planks." He also said that Shah has offered valuable suggestions, and based on it, an action plan to retain power in the state will be formulated soon.

"Discussions were held in detail on our organisational and political calendars. Shah ji offered some very valuable suggestions, and we will implement those at the earliest...We will share more details on the action plan soon," Saikia said.

Saikia reiterated that the BJP would contest the 2026 Assembly elections as part of the NDA alliance, as it did previously, and stressed that there is complete unity within the NDA in Assam. He added that the party would go to the people highlighting the development work carried out by the "double-engine government" at the Centre and in the state over the past decade.

He further said that development and a "secure Assam" would remain the core themes of the party's campaign.

The BJP currently leads a coalition government in Assam with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People's Party Liberal (UPPL), while the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) has also extended support.

In the 126-member Assembly, the BJP now has 64 legislators, while its allies AGP, UPPL and BPF have nine, seven and three members, respectively. In the opposition camp, the Congress' strength is 26, while AIUDF has 15 members and CPI(M) one. There is an Independent legislator also, belonging to Raijor Dal.

According to party sources, the meeting focused on organisational preparedness, electoral strategy, and coordination within the NDA ahead of the polls.

Saikia said that the party will continue to contest the state polls in coalition with its NDA allies, which was also favoured by Shah.